The Push & The Pull
by anglsgrl
Summary: Hey guys, this is my 1st fan fic, let me know if I should continue the story! BB of course on another case, will it push them closer together or pull them apart for good.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

"What the hell? …perfect, no hot water." Today was starting off to be a wonderful day, the sun was yet to rise and here she was fighting with the sink. Temperance grumbled as she made her way to the other side of her apartment to start her usual morning pot of coffee. She swore she was going to cut back on the caffeine, she was quite certain she was starting to become dependent on it, and while dependency was just a fact of human nature she felt that it took a little bit of control out of her hands and that was something she just couldn't handle.

"Who are you talking to?"

Temperance nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the voice behind her. Had she left the door open? She was sure she had locked it. With one quick move she had grabbed the knife on the counter and turned to face her intruder.

"How the hell did you get in?"

"I picked the lock… that's what I do.. I'm a lock picker, another one of the amazing qualities you didn't know I had." Seeing how she was still in full attack mode with knife in the air and white knuckled he decided it was time to address it. "Um.. Bones.. Can you put the knife down please.. I'm not here to kill you."

Shifting uncomfortably she placed the knife back on the counter top and turned to retrieve her much need cup of coffee that was now steaming hot and ready for consumption.

"So, again… who are you talking to? Is someone else here? Ya got a guy in here Bones?" He flashed her his boyish grin in hopes that she would forgive him for the intrusion, then nonchalantly made his way over to the coffee pot. He knew after 2 years that Tempe made a kick butt cup of Joe and he was in no place to resist the temptation.

She hadn't realized that her sigh of annoyance had been loud until Booth's gazed shifted back to her.

"Booth… focus! What are you doing in my apartment? And why did you pick the lock? You could have knocked; I would have come to the door. That is what logical humans do. They respect people's privacy and ask to be allowed in; they don't just take it upon themselves to just walk into someone home. What if I had been walking around naked?"

"You walk around naked?"

"No, but that's not the point. My point is…"

Booth cut her off. It was way too early in the morning for a lecture and he already had a headache.

"Get over it Bones… I did it to scare you; it obviously worked seeing as how you tried to go all Chainsaw Massacre on me with that knife."

"I don't know what that means"

"You should invest in a TV, broaden your horizons. Bones… go to a movie once in a while."

"I happen to think that books are better than movies and I've been to 30 countries I think my "horizons" as you say are broadened."

"Ok, fine.. We have a new case." He stated as he slid the file across the counter to her.

"What is it?"

"Cameron Biggs, 16, disappeared after a babysitting job 3 days ago, parents of course concerned called the police, when they got to the house where she was working no one answered, they busted down the door, found her in the bedroom strapped to the bed frame."

He handed her a set of glossy pictures. "Coroner states time of death 24 hours ago which means this guys has a pretty good head start on us."

Temperance stared at the pictures in complete bafflement. As many times as she had seen it, the battered, bruised, and cold body of a child lying lifeless she'd never get used to it. Something in her stomach started to turn as she flipped through the pictures. The crime scene; the scene where an innocent girl had been turned into some demented mans play toy and then left to fend for herself against the odds of blood loss and emotional torture.

Booth could see it, in an instant her eyes went from sad to detached. This is what she did, he knew it, and in a way he wished he had the same quality.

Temperance had a knack for shutting down, the more impersonal she made the case the better in her eyes she could do her job. Don't become emotionally involved and it won't drive you to that place in your head where you over analyze the pure hatred that humanity can possess. She had done it with every other case that had been thrown her way. It was an unconscious understanding they had between them. Booth was the emotional one, the one that handled the families and the recoil of the situation and Bones was the logical one, the one that found the missing pieces, put a face on the victim and got into the mind of the criminal. Together they made the perfect pair; brains, brawn, a dash of sympathy, and an overwhelming sense of duty to find the answer and let justice prevail.

"I don't understand why you need me? You know who she is and you know who murdered her. Where do I fit into the picture?"

"Like I said before, the bastard took off, and now we need to find him. Nobody has ever had a problem with the guy, so we don't know how his mind works, how he thinks, so we have no idea where he is heading. Cullen was hoping you could scam his place; see if you pick up on anything we are missing. Maybe you will see something that us _armatures_ didn't"

"Ok, let me finish getting dressed and I'll meet you at your office."

"My car is downstairs, I'll just drive you." Booth said reluctantly knowing full well the words that were about to come out of her mouth.

"I'm capable of driving myself." Tempe scoffed.

"Just once please could you not argue with me… please… just once…?" This time is was Booth who was sighing in annoyance. Why did she have to be so difficult? Why couldn't she just say, "Ok, give me a sec and we can go."


	2. Chapter 2

The neighborhood looked surprisingly like a picture from a child's story book. Pristine trees lined the street and manufactured lawns graced the front of every house. It reminded Temperance of the neighborhood that she grew up in. It stuck her as funny how appearances' could be so deceiving.

In the years that she had been identifying missing persons, helping solve crimes for the FBI, and studying the overall character of people she came quickly to understand that those that seem perfect are those that harbor the most deviant of secrets. In this particular case, a murder amongst the pretty people.

"It's that one right there."

Booth pointed to the 2 story house on the corner lot. Blue shutters adorned its large windows and pots overflowing with pansies were line evenly with the white railing that seemed to engulf the front of the house like a perfectly positioned welcome sign. The only thing that drew away from the beauty of the house was the bright yellow tape that was now draped over the door in a cautionary warning to family and friends not to enter.

"The body has already been removed and taken to your lab, but nothing else has been touched. Cooper was in here early this morning flagging blood splatter, and Cullen came in about an hour later to insure the integrity of the scene."

"What about the guy?"

"Hibbert? No one has seen him for at least a day. We talked to the neighbors but no one seems to have heard anything, all claim that he was a pretty regular guy. Works for a pharmaceutical company downtown, his wife died in a boating accident about 2 years ago. He only has 1 child, little boy named Eric, he's 4 and goes to daycare about a mile from here, he hasn't been there in 2 days.

As she entered the room the overpowering smell of Lysol engulfed her, instantly triggering questions.

"Did anyone find the bottle of Lysol?"

"Lysol?"

"Yea, that's the smell… there has to be a bottle here somewhere. The smell is too strong for it to be used solely as a household cleaning product, he must have used it for something else; maybe something he was trying to sterilize."

The two instantaneously began to search the room for the missing product hoping to stumble on it as well as other trace evidence while in the process. The room was exceptionally small for the overall size of the house. The room was minimally decorated with only a few small pictures hanging on the freshly painted cream colored walls, and the remnants of what at one time could have been considered a very lovely floral print comforter lay drenched in blood at the base of an antique four-poster bed.

Temperance noticed how the wire used to bind the girl's wrist had started to scar and groove the wood on the two larger bed posts. With the exclusion of the dust that seemed to have gathered on random object through out the room, and bedspread on the floor, Bones noted how immaculate the room was. Things were perfectly centered, and the curtains were ironed as if they had just been purchased and hung.

"Hey, Booth does anyone know where the key is to this door?" Bones stated as she jiggled the brass door handle that led into what she rightfully assumed was the bedrooms only closet.

"Don't know, move for a sec.. I'll just pick it and save us both some time."

"You.. with the lock picking.. geez remind me to get a Booth proof lock for my apartment."

"Now, what fun would that be?"

"Shut up and open the door."

Booth pushed the door open to reveal racks of women's clothing.

"I'm gonna guess those are the wife's" Booth said as he fingered a purple sun dress that hung at the far left of the closet.

"I'm gonna guess no." said Tempe.

"Ok, I'll bite.. Why?"

"Hanging in the front hall is a picture of the whole family, including his wife. She is easily a size 14 while those clothes couldn't possibly be any bigger than a size 2. Those are not her clothes."

Booth felt the drip the second it hit his sleeve.

"What the …." Booth looked up noticing a box that was dripping a yellow fluid. "Well, I think I just found the Lysol."

"Well, ok, so if he is hiding Lysol in a hat box what's in the other boxes?" Bones quickly left the closet only to return a few seconds later with the chair that was apart of the desk set on the other side of the room.

Temperance climbed onto the chair like an expert extending her hand to the far corner of the closet to recover the boxes that had been pushed back as far as the closet would allow.

"What is it?"

"Don't know, let me get down first." Bones stated as she hopped off the chair back onto the stability of the hardwood floor.

"Here, hand it too me." Bones shifted slightly to hand Booth the box then moved to the other side of the closet.

"Did you hear that" Bones asked hearing a faint squeak from the floor as she shifted back and forth from foot to foot.

"This board is loose. I have walked through this entire house and this is the only loose board? In a closet?" Bones reached in her pocket to retrieve the knife that she recently decided to start carrying. "This board isn't even tacked down Booth." She carefully used the end of the small blade to pull up the loose corner of the board.

"I think something is in here." She whispered to herself knowing full well that Booth was engrossed in un-taping the hat box she had just handed him.

"Oh my god!" they simultaneously declared as they shot each other a look of utter disgust.

"I think we have a problem Bones."

"No, Booth… I think we have a huge problem."


	3. Chapter 3

** hey guys... thanks for the great reviews... Sorry this chapter is so short, but it's just a filler chapter... the next one will be longer. I love input so good or bad just give me a shout.**

"What is it?" Cullen asked as he saw the two stalked out of the house, Booth with box in hand.

"Here, take a look for yourself." Booth handed Cullen the red box and turned to see the bewildered look on Temperance's face.

"There have to be at least 50 pictures in that box." Booth stated. "It looks like it's the same 6 girls in all the pictures. One of them is Cameron Biggs."

"And what's wrong with you?" Cullen asked looking at Bones like she was invading his personal space.

"We found bones under a board in the bedroom closet."

"What kind of bones? Animal, Mineral? Be more specific." Cullen looked at her agitated.

"What kind do you think? I'm guessing there are bones from approximately four other people down there, and from what's in that box you have I would assume it's the bones from those girls."

"Ok, now I'm intrigued.. show me the closet." Bones and Booth led Cullen into the bedroom directly to the closet.

"The bones are clean, " stated Tempe, "We found this bottle of Lysol in another box at the top of the closet, looks like he found a way to strip the bones and then cleaned them with Lysol to hinder any smell that may have still been present on them. I can send these back to Zach and see if he can match the severed area with a weapon or tool, it might help us know where else to look for evidence."

"Fine, get to work" Cullen exclaimed as he exited through the closet door hoping to escape the sudden claustrophobia he now felt in his chest.

"Here, hold this." Temperance thrust a decaying bone at Booths head.

"Hey, don't throw things at my head when I'm not looking, especially when it's a body part."

"I can't help it your squeamish, I need to put these in a bag and get them to Zach, it would be nice if you would help me."

"So, you need my help huh…?" Booth sauntered up to Bones nudging her in the side with his elbow. "Ask me pretty please.."

"I'm not going to beg you for your help, help me or not, I don't care." Bones glared at him with her most determined look, and just like always Booth gave in and stooped to help hold the bag.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for the great reviews..I promised you a long chapter so here you go. I'm sorry if you think I'm dragging this out, but I hate stories that don't give detail, so I tend to go a little overboard. Let me know what you think! P.S. there are some footnotes to explain a few terms incase you are interested.**

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Booth stood at the bottom of the platform staring in awe as he watched what appeared to be a national squint convention. He was quite certain that he would never get used to the harsh lighting of the Jeffersonian yet here he was in all of its bright white glory. The building had always been somewhat sterile in his eyes, the only accent to the bluntness of lines and electronics was the faint blue undertone lighting that graced the tables on which Bones did her magic.

Bottles and ancient tools lined the tables forming a ring of history that only the person that used them would comprehend, and bones of the museums' most recently discovered Baltic warrior lay strewn upon a light board carefully numbered and ready for their place of rightful residence in their skeleton.

The alarm sound was deafening, a mix of car alarm warning tones and a dog whistle shrill instantly drawing everyone's attention to the person at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey, why the hell is my card not working?" Booth griped while continually swiping his access card back in forth through the security pole hoping to achieve a different result.

"Maybe someone is trying to tell you something." Hodges yelled from his little corner of the world.

"Sorry sweetie," Angela stated as if the whole incident lay solely on her shoulders.

"Brennan had all the cards reissued after her bones were stolen, guess she must have forgotten you."

Booth had no idea why that little statement wrenched his gut so much. The fact that they had been partners for two years must have meant more to him than it did to her. How could she forget me? "Whatever", he thought to himself, he was just overanalyzing it. She was a busy person, she had things going on, she must have thought she had already given him his new card.

"Hey! Who let him on the platform?" Temperance yelped as she emerged from her office door on the far side of the room.

"I did, why is that a problem?" Angela confounded.

"I don't do things around here for my health Angela, there is usually a reason involved." Temperance stated with a harshness she had not intended.

"Booth, they need to see you in the security office."

"The principal's office… uh oh… I must have done it now." Booth said with an obvious hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"So, quite the mood we are in this afternoon sweetie. What's wrong, Booth wake you up on the wrong side of the bed?" Angela was pleased at the way she could always ruffle Tempe's nerves at the mention of her and Booth in bed.

"Angela, I have work to do."

"I know that, but still… I heard that Booth broke into your apartment this morning… anything you want to tell me?"

"About what?"

"I don't know.. About how the two of you are obviously in love with each other and you couldn't contain your passion anymore."

"Angela!"

"Hey, believe me when I say that I'm sorry it isn't me, but you should have seen the look on his face when I told him that _you_ are the one that didn't give him a new access card. Like a wounded puppy, with those big sexy brown eyes." Bones rolled her eyes.

"That has nothing to do with me. Security needed a new thumb print from him, Where is Zach?" Bones said trying to avert Angela's attention to a different topic; one that Bones felt more comfortable delving herself into.

"I don't know, quit changing the subject."

"Angela, I have work to do, and so do you. See that bag." Temperance pointed to the bright orange bag at the end of the table, "There are bones from 4 different people in there, and I need to figure out who they are, and how they got under the floorboard in a closet."

"Ok, well, my mood has officially been downed. What do you need me to do?"

Angela was better at putting the humanity back into a person than anyone Bones had ever known. While the rest of the staff spent their day picking apart the pieces Angela spent her day putting them all back together, she gave the victims a face, a memory stamp for who they were, and the kind of life they led. Temperance admired her more than Angela could conceive. Angela had a way of bringing the person back to life and making you realize why you were working so hard to solve a case that was considered cold and useless. Angela loved life and lived it to its fullest; something that Tempe never allowed herself the time to do. She could take off the edge of the day with a drink and a dance, remove the images in her head with conversations with a stranger, let her guard down, and be the person that Temperance had grown to call her best friend.

"Dr. Brennan, I took the initiative to start without you, I have already removed any soil deposits that I could see from the body, jarred it and gave it to Hodges to run for foreign debris, also, there was a faint ammonia smell coming from the areas around her wrist so I took three swabbes of the blooded area for testing. I put one in the hemodialysis machine to verify time of death; the other two are in the process of platelet separation so we can identify what product the smell was from."

"Well thanks Zach, but you're wasting your time, we already know where the ammonia came from."

Within a blink of an eye she could be his face turn from contentment to disappointment and she wanted nothing more than to wish she had just kept her mouth shut and simply said thank you.

Zach looked up to her; she knew it and in a way she was flattered. There had been a time in her life when she had looked up to someone in her very same position. She remembered the feeling she would get when working side by side with her mentor. The pleasure that it would bring her when she would discover something that he had missed. Zach wanted that for himself and she recognized it. Maybe next time she could give that to him. Stroke his ego, and let him have his moment of glory, even if it was a detail that she had already caught herself.

"How do you already know?"

"We found a bottle of Lysol in the closet; it had obviously been used and was leaking from the box that it was found in."

"I also found signs of asphyxiation." Zach vocalized in a lower than normal tone.

"Really?"

"Yea, when I was going over the body I noticed a small pink thread near the base of her lips which naturally made me suspicious, so I ventured to her eyes where there was a clear presence of petechial hemorrhaging. Looks like someone stuck a pillow to her face and pushed if you ask me."

This was it, his moment of self defiance, and Bones let him have it.

"So, What we got here?" Booth said finally finding his way back to the platform, new shiny access card in hand.

"Zach found signs of asphyxiation in her eyes." Bones said.

"Ok, so that means what exactly?"

Zach piped up in a flash, "Someone suffocated your girl with a pink pillow."

"I thought she died of blood loss?" Booth looked confused.

"Maybe that is what Hibbert wanted everyone to think? The fact of the matter was, this girl was still alive even after all of her blood loss, maybe his plan fell through and he didn't know any other way of handling it. By the looks of it he had a ritual. He did the same thing each time, no dissimilarity, no variation. He probably assumed after this many girls he had perfected his pattern, Cameron Biggs just threw a big kink into the plan so he started making mistakes, starting making it up as he went along."

Booth was impressed, Bones had never been one for theories of any kind, but this particular time he was thinking the exact same thing.

"So…" Booth thought aloud, "We have a teenage girl that goes to a babysitting job one night, once there the dad freaks out about God knows what, ties her to a bed then eventually suffocates her with a pillow. We have a serious piece of the puzzle missing. Why exactly was she tied to the bed in the first place?"

"That I couldn't tell you," Bones spoke up, "However I did notice as I was looking around the room that there were groove marks on the lower bed post as well as the top, but Cameron's legs weren't bound."

"So you think that the other girls were tied to the bed as well?"

"That is what is says to me, but we can check their bones for abrasions or indentations from the wire."

"What do you want me to do?" asked Angela nosing back in to the mix of the case.

"There are four skulls in this bag as well, I need you to take the box of photos that Booth has and see if you can find a match to each."

"Not a problem sweetie, I'll get right on it." Angela carefully extracted the skulls from the bag setting them on a transfer cart that was conveniently placed to the left of the light board.

"Zach, you finish up what you have already started and let me know if Hodges finds anything in the dirt you extracted."

"How about I tell you myself?" Hodges has stealthily reentered the room while everyone was deep in conversation looking like a giddy school kid with smile from ear to ear.

"What are you grinning at Poncho?" said Booth

"Well… first of all, don't call me Poncho, and second, I found traced of Dermestid Beetles on the bottom of her feet."

"What are Dermestid Beetles?" asked Booth clearly lost in a see of pronouns and squint speak.

"They feed on flesh most commonly used by Taxidermist for skull cleaning." Said Bones.

"You mean to tell me that this guys covers these dead girls in beetles, lets them eat their flesh and then cleans the bones with Lysol to hide the smell."

"Pretty much."

"Needless to say, I'm not hungry anymore."

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******Asphyxiation: or death due to lack of oxygen, can have many causes, including strangulation or compression of the neck, suffocation, drowning, choking, and hanging. **

******Petechail hemorrhaging: in eyes, face, lungs, and neck area. Petechiae are tiny purple or red spots on the skin that are caused by small areas of bleeding under the skin.  
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	5. Chapter 5

**Love the reviews... makes me keep writting...keep them up! **

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It had been a long day, mentally and physically. Temperance was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to draw herself a nice warm bath and fall asleep in the tub. She grunted as she leaned down to untie the shoes that everyone claimed were to sensible for a women her age. This evening her apartment seemed lonelier than normal. She had grown used to the peacefulness of living by herself, being in control of her own life with no one to answer too. She had gotten comfortable and set in her ways. Things in her apartment were just so. Things were never left out, dishes were never left undone; she had convinced herself after years of being alone that this was the way she preferred it, however, tonight things were different. Her apartment seemed sad and inhospitable. She was wound up in an emotional ball, it tended to happen to her with a case like the one she was on now. "Don't get emotionally involved" she would tell herself, "Focus on the facts," she would lecture, and she would. She would bottle it all up, do her job, and battle with the inner demons in her head later.

The knock on the door surprised her, made her skin crawl just a little in fear, yet she found her way to the door to see who had graced her with their presence at such a late hour.

She quickly peered through the peep hole. A habit that Booth had insisted she get used to doing.

"Ugh… what now." She mumbled while opening the door.

"Gee, so nice to see you too."

"Well, at least you knocked this time." Bones said in a huff while sliding to the left of the door to allow him entrance into her apartment.

"I can see I'm never going to hear the end of that one, it was a joke Bones, you know, funny ha ha, laugh it off and get over it."

"What do you want?"

Booth could see the annoyed look on her face and wondered what exactly she had been doing that would cause her so much annoyance at the interruption of a friend.

"I thought you might be hungry, I noticed that you didn't eat anything today, figured we could go to Wong Foo's and grab a bite to eat."

"I'm really not in the mood, besides I've already been home for an hour I don't feel like leaving again. I'll just grab something I have in the kitchen." Bones said hoping that he would take the hint and leave.

The truth was, she was sort of glad that he was there. Broke the silence from the room, and scared away the millions of thoughts that pounded her brain.

"Bones, you never have food in your apartment, what are you going to eat the fish food?"

"For your information I went to the store this weekend and I have plenty of food here to eat."

Booth walked into the kitchen and instantly began to investigate the contents of her pantry. He was impressed, he had never actually seen food in Tempe's apartment before, she was never there enough to bother with going to the store, and usually either ate out, or ordered in.

"What do you want?" He yelled back at her over his shoulder. "I can make a mean pot of spaghetti, is that good with you?"

He reached into the pantry to recover the ingredients he needed and then quickly shut the door.

"What are you doing?" Temperance asked with a somewhat bewildered look on her face.

"Making dinner what does it look like?"

"Obviously, but why?"

"Because you're hungry, I am too by the way, and you said that you didn't want to go anywhere. That leaves two options, Pizza, which I had for lunch, or cooking something, I just opted for the cooking."

"Just because I don't want to leave doesn't mean that you can't." Tempe's said silently hoping that he would argue with her and opt to stay anyways.

"Listen, Temperance, we have both had a long day, we are both tired and both hungry. The last time I checked we were also friends, that to me means that sitting down and having dinner, maybe sharing in a little bit of "light" conversation is acceptable, however if you want me to leave all you have to do is ask."

Booth looked hurt and Tempe noticed it. What was she doing? Why was she being so difficult? The two of them eat dinner all of the time, why would this be different. She decided to concede.

"Ok, fine, you can stay, spaghetti is fine. Would you like anything to drink?"

"Water is fine… um…. Got a pot?"

"Yea, under the island."

"Got it."

Temperance shifted uncomfortably not knowing how to act in her own home. It had been a long time since she had a man in her apartment, and she had never had one that had cooked for her. She couldn't however, in spite of her own feelings help but notice how at ease Booth looked. He looked at peace in her apartment, like it was a second home to him, one that he spent holiday's at and left clothes at just incase something was to come up. He had of course made comments to the fact that she didn't own a television, but when it came right down to it, all they ever did was talk anyways.

She enjoyed his pleasant conversations. They usually revolved around something going on in his life like Parker, and they vary rarely touched on her past. She assumed that he realized it was a hard topic for her, so he just avoided it to be polite, but all in all things were relatively casual and calm between the two of them.

"What you thinking about?" Booth interrupted not knowing that she was thinking of him. Temperance was disillusioned to the fact that he had been staring at her for the last five minutes, if so, it would have taken her uncomfort to a whole new level.

"Nothing important" Tempe said obvious to the world that she was lying through her teeth.

"You know, part of my job is to know when people are lying, and I hate to say it, but you are horrible at it. Now, I'll ask again only because whatever it was you were thinking about looked pretty serious."

"I was thinking about you."

Booth stood there in silence. He had no idea how to respond to what he had just heard and was surprised that whatever the thought could have been would form such a confused look on Bones' face.

"I was thinking how odd it is that you look so comfortable in my house."

"Oh, well, you know, I'm not that picky, I'll go anywhere if it involves good food. Are you sure that's it?" Booth said trying to pry a little deeper into the person he was starting to care a lot about.

"Why did you come here tonight? Was it really because you were hungry?"

"Yea."

Temperance unintentionally let out a sigh of disappointment.

"Ok, that was a lie, I came over because I didn't want to be alone, and you seemed like the most logical choice."

"Logical choice?" she drew the words out.

"You are my partner so you understand the type of day I had which means that you won't ask me questions about it, You are my friend, so naturally I like to spend time with my friends, and most of all because I missed you."

Booth had said the last part of the statement so soft that Tempe had almost missed it.

"What did you say?" Temperance's heartbeat had begun to beat faster than normal, and she could feel the heat starting to rise in her cheeks. She was lost within herself as to why those words had such a strong effect on her, but they had, and now she needed to know why.

"I said you are my friend and.." Tempe cut him off mid sentence.

"No, what did you say last?"

"I said I missed you."

"How can you miss me? You see me everyday."

"No I don't, I see Dr. Brennan, I see the forensic pathologist, I don't see you. I don't see Temperance. I miss Temperance."

Bones was completely dumbfounded. Speechless, stunned. "What?" was all that could process through her head at the moment.

"Listen, you don't open up for people, and you know it, but there are those few freak moments when you have, and they have been with me. It's just nice to know the real you. The person that you are when you come home and you aren't hiding behind facts and work as an excuse to be unsociable."

Booth hadn't meant for it to happen, but it had. He saw the small tear roll down the side of her face then balance gracefully at the base of her chin. Without a second thought he reached up with his thumb to wipe it away at the same time turning her face towards his.

"I didn't mean that to be harsh Tempe, my intention was not to come over here and upset you, all I wanted was to spend some time with you outside of the office, bond, ya know."

Temperance shook her head still unable to speak.

"How about we just eat, the food is almost ready, and I promise to keep my mouth shut so I don't upset you any more."

Booth moved back towards the stove to remove the noodles that were now ready to drain and eat. The rest of the evening was spent in silence until Booth decided to leave.

"What have I done" he thought to himself while walking down the stairs and out of the building. "This can't happen Seely!" he scolded himself and he put the car in drive and made his way back to the other side of town where things were safe and he was far away from the person that cause his heart to ache.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry to disappoint yall with Bones crying and Booth taking off... but what ya gonna do. You know that is how they are. Anyways, sorry I didn't update yesterday, but I'm off tomorrow so if I have time I'll try and catch back up and write 2 chapters. Thanks again for the reviews. Keep em up! Tozzyoby, I promise you will eventually get your happy chapter.. just don't loose faith in me.. these things take time.- Misty**

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Bones rolled over and smacked the snooze button, she had always been the punctual one to rise in the morning, never hit the snooze, and jumped out of bed the instant light peered through her bedroom window, but this morning had an unusual loom of doubt and awkwardness that made getting up difficult.

Most of the events of the evening before still hadn't registered with her yet, but the pain that she felt was prominent and still stung. She had been told way to many times that she closed herself off, that she had built a wall so secure that the strongest of armies would never breach it. But to hear it put so bluntly by Booth, that in simplest terms hurt. The second he had said it it made her chest tighten, and as much as she screamed to herself inside her head not to, the tear still came making her feel weak. Just one, but it did as much damage to her as a hundred would have.

She just had to be professional, that was all there was to it. Be professional, go about her day like she would any other, do her job and go home. Booth was a smart guy, he would do the same. Temperance was quite certain that he would feel the same way that she did.

It was 8:30 by the time she had finally reached the Jeffersonian. She hadn't been that late in years. Her job was too important in her eyes, and that kind of dedication she felt started promptly at 7am.

"Well good morning sleeping beauty," she heard Angela say behind her back.

"Morning." She moaned back almost incoherently.

"You ok?" Angela had noticed almost instantly that Brennan's eyes were puffy and a little blood shot. She looked as though she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep all night. Booth had looked the same way and she couldn't pull any details from him either.

"Got any coffee?" Tempe asked.

"No, but there is a very handsome but sad individual in your office that I believe brought you a cup."

Booth had been there for over an hour pacing Brennan's office. He had so many things that he wanted to tell her, but hadn't the faintest of ideas of how to say it. Last night had been a mistake and he knew it. He had exhausted hours last night arguing with himself over the way that he had acted, the way that he had left things with out even saying goodbye. He had just gotten up and left. Things have been confusing between them before but last night he had taken it to a whole new level.

"Why are you here so early?" Temperance asked Booth while entering her office. "I have a few other cases that I need to work on today, and you said that you weren't going to be here until 1."

"Yea I know but I think we need to talk." Booth sat across from her desk looking up at here like a wounded animal.

"Really, did you find out something new on the Hibbert case?" Tempe tried desperately to steer Booth away from the conversation that she knew he had intended to have.

"Yes I did, but that's not what I wanted to talk about, Listen, about last night.."

"Hey, there is nothing to talk about, what did you find out about the case?"

Booth gave up without a fight, he knew it was useless to try and engage her into a conversation that she clearly didn't want to have.

He shoved the file across the table to her.

"I already spoke with Angela this morning, we compared the pictures that we retrieved from the box to the facial recreations that she came up with, and we found matches. Come to find out, all four of them were registered as runaways over a month ago which would explain why there was no connection to Hibbert. Sara Mangus 15, Jessica Holobough 16, Tiffany Brandy 17 and Melissa Johnson 14. All of the girls were athletes at Kimball High school where coincidently enough Mr. Hibbert himself used to be a chemistry teacher before his sudden move into the pharmaceuticals field."

"When did he stop teaching?"

"About a year ago when his wife was in a boating accident and died. His resignation letter stated traumatic stress due to sudden loss. Says he no longer had the required focus to educate children."

"Hum.."

Booth could see the wheels turning and was curious where her mind was going.

"What ya thinking?" Booth questioned.

"Who was the coroner on his wife's death?"

"McMillan, why?"

"I just have this sneaky suspicion that he missed something. I don't think that his wife had some freak accident; I think he killed her because she found out about his little stalking obsession. Do you think that you can get a hold of the files for me?"

"I'll see what I can do, but I have to say that up until this point this guy has shown no signs of psychotic behavior."

"Isn't that usually how it is?"

"Good point. So where are we at with everything else?" Booth inquired knowing that Bones was about to share the details of her own findings.

"Hodges traced the Dermestid beetles back to a dealer on the west side of town. Apparently there is only one store that sells them in the entire DC area. Also, we found bondage marks on the fibula bones of all the other victims, which substantiates my earlier assumptions that the other victims had both their hands and feet tied to the bed while Cameron Biggs only had her arms. There were no traces of inhibitants in Cameron Biggs' blood stream, or any signs of defense marking on her body which only leaves me to consider that fact that she was well known to Hibbert, maybe they had an affair that made her trust him enough to lay on the bed."

"You think that Cameron Biggs was having a sexual affair with Hibbert?" Booth had a crushing feeling of disgust in his gut. What kind of sick guy would have an affair with a 16 year old child?

"We tested her, she was sexually active. We didn't find any traces of sperm so she hasn't had sex in at least a week, but she has had it before. Maybe they hadn't gotten to that point yet before Hibbert freaked. Did all of these girls have Hibbert for a teacher?"

"No, I already checked that, they all went to the same school, and were on various athletic teams like I said before, but none of them had Hibbert for a teacher."

"What about surveillance cameras? Most of the schools these days have them set up through-out the building to monitor behavior; do you think there is any chance that they would still have the tapes from when he was teaching?"

"There is only one way to find out. Let's go."

"Um, I'm gonna stay here, you go check. I have some things I need to work out here before I take off."

Booth knew that she way lying, knew that the only reason she wasn't hopping at the chance to do some good old fashioned field work is because they would be in the same car together.

"Bones."

"What Booth, I told you I have some loose ends to tie up around the office; I will meet you a little later." Tempe was terrified of being alone in the same car as Booth, afraid that he would use it as his chance to discuss last night. She wasn't ready for that, so she wasn't going to give him the option. "Thank you for the coffee. I'll call you in a little while."

Booth rolled his eyes, "Fine."


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry about the wait guys, I've been fighting with the document upload all day. Hope you like.

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Booth couldn't recall the last time he had been in a school. Rebecca never informed him of any of Parker's school activities so there was no reason that he could see for stepping into such a life sucking place. The walls were an almost blinding fluorescent orange with a lime green stripe going directly down the center of it. Coke machines lined the front entry hall as you entered into the building, and directly to the left was the administration office complete with fake ficus trees and dingy carpet that had seen the bottom of too many teenage shoes. His own curiosity had him wondering how long exactly it would take before someone noticed a strange adult walking the halls scoping it out like a hit man on a mission, when he heard a voice behind him.

"Can I help you sir?" The women looked exactly like a stereotypical lunch lady. Short, a little on the heavy side, and wearing horrible yet occupationally functional white shoes.

"Um yes actually.. my name is Agent Seeley Booth with the FBI, I need to speak with whom ever is in charge of your security cameras throughout the building."

"Well, sir, that would be Mr. Helms, but he isn't in today. I can lead you to Mr. Handsfield's office though; he may be able to help you with whatever you are needing."

"Who is Mr. Handsfield." Booth questioned wondering who exactly would have access to the tapes other than the team in the security office.

"The principal sir."

"Wow, twice in one week." Booth scoffed remembering his comment earlier in the week.

"Sorry sir?"

"Nothing… nevermind."

Booth hated being there by himself, Bones always had a way of sniffing something out that he missed, irritated him sometimes, but that is what he admired about her the most, her attention to ridiculous detail.

The squatty lunch lady, Betty, according to the name tag that she bared led him straight to Mr. Handsfields office.

The office was typical, or at the very least consistent with the depiction that Booth had conjured in his head. Diplomas and letters of certificate hung halfhazardly from the office's badly wallpapered walls, papers collected in numerous mounds on top of what one only could presume at one time was a beautiful and ornate mahogany desk. Booth made his way over to the wall to investigate the diplomas.

"Dartmouth….hum interesting."

"Really? And why exactly is that interesting Mr. Booth?" The man had come out of the wood work; Booth may not have been as sharp as he once was, but there was no way that this guy was that damn quiet walking into a room.

"Agent Booth," Booth replied just a little irritated that his presence had been informed, however without the ranking "And I just find it interesting that a man of such high dollar education would be the principal at the 15th ranked high school in the DC area."

"Well I'm sorry to disappoint you Agent Booth with my "high dollar" education as you put it. I understand you were looking for Bradley Helms, correct?"

"Indeed." Booth realized straight away that he would have to be on his A game to deal with Mr. Handsfield. There was something about him that irked Booth, but he had yet to figure it out. "I understand that Mr. Helms is in charge of the video surveillance of the school is that correct?"

"Yes sir, he has been in charge of it for the last 2 years. If I may ask, what exactly is all of this about?"

"I'm assuming you are a smart guy Mr. Handsfield what with your Ivy League education and all, so let me ask you this.. Do you know Cameron Biggs?" Booth stared closely at Handsfields eyes hoping to see some flicker of recognition or coherence to her recent situation.

"Yes sir, I am aware of Miss. Biggs as well as her horrific death that has been splattered all over the news."

"Well, then you understand that we are just trying to follow any leads that we may have discovered to help us close the case and catch her killer."

"Yes, I understand that, but what I don't understand is what that has to do with the school, or the surveillance tapes."

"We found Ms. Biggs's body at the residence of one of your former teachers, Mr. Hibbert, as well as the bones from several other previous students, we would like to review the tapes and see if he had any connection to them while they were still attending this school."

"Well, I really would like to help you but I'm afraid that we erase and reuse the tapes every 3 months, Mr. Hibbert hasn't been employed at this school for approximately a year."

"Well, in any case, I would like to see the tapes anyway, search the room where the tapes are held."

"Agent Booth, I'm not sure what you are hoping to find"  
"That is why you do your job, and I do mine, if you would like me to obtain a warrant I would be happy to."

Booth saw the flash of panic in his eyes.

"No, that will not be necessary, right this way."

The room was stuffy, and the ventilation was poor. It had a faint smell of burning rubber from the concentrated amount of equipment that was stuffed into such a confined space. Booth was actually astounded by the amount of surveillance the school had. There were cameras set to focus on all four of the main halls of the school, accompanying them were five sub-cameras that covered various other student activity areas such as the lunch room and gym.

"How many cameras are there in all?"

"9"

"Hum…. 9 cameras yet there are 11 screens. Why is that?"

"They must be new; I will have to ask Helms. We are building a new addition onto the rear of the school; they must have already bought the equipment for the new areas."

"Hum…Where is this?" Booth asked pointing to one of the black and white TV screens.

"Looks like the hall outside of the science wing; although I don't know why we would have a camera there it isn't a main hall."

Booth knew why, yet he remained calm and continued his search.

"Can you show me where the tapes are stored please."

"Sure." Handsfield led Booth to a series of wooden cabinets that lined the east wall of the room. "Each of these cabinets represents a month, and inside, each shelf represents a week. There are two tapes for each week, one is the feed from the main corridors, the other is from the sub-cameras."

Booth took count of the tapes. Handsfield was correct; the number of tapes matched the weeks and months for the last three months. There was no way they were going to get the evidence they needed from the tapes. While it would definitely be noted that there were an additional cameras set up in the science wing there was nothing there that was hard evidence. Booth decided that Bones and he were going to have to find another way to get what they needed. He closed the cabinets and started walking towards the door when he noticed a stream of light coming from underneath one of the cabinets.

"What is that?" he asked Handsfield.  
"Don't know."

"Help me move this cabinet." Booth demanded

"Um, how about I get the maintenance department to help you with that." Handsfield started to exit the room.

"Stop. Now turn around and help me move this cabinet." Booth had a demanding presence about him when he needed to and at this moment it seamed like appropriate timing.

Both men grasped the side of the cabinet and scooched it forward about 3 inches, just enough to see behind it.

"Where does this door lead?" Both asked.

"Not sure."

"You know, for such a smart guy you don't know very much do you." Booth was growing quickly dissatisfied with the answers that he was getting from Handsfield and decided that is was time to just take charge and see what he could muster up for himself.

"Ok, you are going to have to stop worrying about your manicured hands and help me move this cabinet the rest of the way, or I am going to arrest you for obstruction."

"There is no need to be rude Agent Booth, I will help you the best that I am able."

Finally after ten minutes Booth had access to the mysterious door behind the video cabinets.

Booth jiggled the door knob wishing for at least an ounce of good karma. No such luck, the door was locked.

"I will call maintenance; they should have a key to that door." Handsfield offered up.

"That's ok, I'll get it myself." After 30 seconds Booth had the door ajar and a stunned look on his face.

"What in heavens is this" Handsfiend pondered aloud also standing with his mouth gaping open.

"I was just about to ask you the same question Mr. Handsfield."


	8. Chapter 8

**Ok, here is the 2nd chapter I wrote today, I have 9 ready too, but I'm gonna make you wait until tomorrow. Keep up the reviews! Love em! ---Misty**

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Booth was thunderstruck by what he was looking at. Rows and rows of television feed from all over campus; girls restrooms, gym shower rooms, every single hall in the building; there was a TV for every inch of the building.

"Oh my god." Was all that could escape from Mr. Handsfield's mouth at the sight of the hidden room.

"You mean to tell me you had no idea this was here?" Booth looked at Handsfield fuming with anger. "How does the principal of a school not know about a secret room where some sick bastard is taping all of the female pupils? I find that very hard to believe Mr. Handsfield and I swear if I find out you had anything to do with this you will be hanging your fancy shmancy diplomas on a cinder block wall in prison."

Booth stormed out too disgusted to continue in his search, it would have to be completed another time and for right now he was ok with that idea.

Temperance had spent all day in her office going over particle reports given to her by Hodgins. There had to be something that she was missing she was convinced of it, but she lacked the effort to find it. Her thoughts did nothing but drift and wonder all day, to Booth.

"Whatcha thinkn' bout?" Angela was standing in the door frame to Tempe's office with a concerned look on her face.

"I'm having a hard time concentrating." Tempe rubbed her temples with the tips of her fingers and sighed.

"Booth?" Angela asked pointedly.

"No Ange it's not Booth, I am trying to find something that I missed in the Hibbert case, a fraction of a piece of evidence, something for me to go on and I just can't find it."

"Well sweetie, do you think it has anything to due with the fact that you haven't slept in two days."

"Who says I haven't slept?" asked Tempe.

"The elephant sized bags under your eyes." Bones rolled her eyes. She knew she looked like death. Angela was right, she hadn't slept well, and it was catching up with her. Her performance was lacking and all she wanted to do was cuddle up in a nice warm blanket and sleep for the next year.

"Why don't you go home, get some sleep. You aren't doing any good around here, and Goodman is already gone for the day, he will never know the difference."

Bones didn't have the energy to argue with Angela and agreed.

"You promise me Ange that if you all come up with anything you will call me immediately."

"Yes your majesty."

"Not funny Angela… see you tomorrow."

Temperance gathered her things and headed towards the elevator only looking back once to be certain that she had locked her office door. She had barely made it to her car when her cell phone rang.

"Really Angela.. I haven't even made it to my car, what do you want?" Frustration filled the air and Angela could hear it, but regardless of the chewing she was doomed to get she had to make the call.

"Booth just walked in and says that he needs to speak with you, something about cameras, and bathrooms, I really couldn't follow it all."

"I don't care Ange, tell him that I'm going home I will talk to him tomorrow." Bones hung up the phone before Angela could even spit out another word.

"Sorry Booth she said it will have to wait till tomorrow."

Booth was past the point of disgruntled, and being blown off by his partner only fueled his anger.

"What is her problem? Did you tell her that I have evidence for the Hibbert case?"

"Yes I did, she didn't care. Booth she really is tired, maybe you should just let it be for one day. She wouldn't be much help to you today anyways; she has been here for 5 hours and gotten not a damn thing accomplished."

"And I suppose that is my fault?"

Angela was taken aback, she had the faintest of what was going on between the two of them, but whatever it was they needed to be locked in a room together till they got it fixed. Avoidance never helped any situation.

"Hey, ok, back up… number 1, what the hell is your problem? Do you have a bug up your butt? And number 2 if you need to see her that bad you know where she lives, make a surprise visit."

Booths footsteps could be heard for miles as he stomped out of the building and to his own vehicle.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for the reviews... chapter 9 as I promised. - Misty**

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"Let me in Bones!" Temperance could hear him yelling from the other side of the door, but chose to ignore him. She was too tired to deal with Booth at the moment and refused to open the door. 

"Bones, I'm not a complete idiot I know you're here your car is downstairs. Let me in or I'll let myself in."

Temperance had already changed clothes for the evening, and didn't want to have to deal with drama at this hour.

"GRRrrrr! Can't you take a hint Booth?" She screamed as she reluctantly opened the door to see a very exhausted looking man in front of her.

Booth stood in awe, he had never seen her look so beautiful. She stood in front of him looking disheveled and out of sorts, but she still took his breath away.

"I am tired Booth can we please do this tomorrow."

"What, so you can avoid me again tomorrow? Not likely." Booth said pushing Bones aside and letting himself in her apartment. "I'm just as tired as you are, but I have some information you might find interesting." He sat on the couch making himself at home waiting for Temperance to do the same. "Sit down Tempe!"

"What makes you think that yelling at me is going to make me respond faster?"

"Because I know you."

Temperance sat down. "What is so important that it couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

"Nothing, but I knew if I told you that we needed to talk about personal issues you would have kicked me out already." Booth smirked knowing that Temperance couldn't resist his smile.

"Are you kidding me? Get out.. I am not discussing anything with you. I'm going to bed." Temperance started to her room when she felt the crushing weight of his hand on her shoulder.

"Please Tempe. I can't handle this back and forth, and I know it's getting to you too. You look like you didn't sleep at all last night." He moved his hand away from her shoulder; the slight brush of the feel from her skin was burning his hand and making his mind fuzzy.

"Don't think for one second that you had any effect on my sleep."

"Fine, whatever you say Tempe, but we still need to talk."

Tempe flopped back down on the couch now too tired to stand on her own two feet.

"What Booth?"

"About last night…"

"Stop right there, nothing happened last night so there is nothing to talk about."

"So was I imagining the fact that I made you cry?"

"It was one tear Booth, one tear, not the end of the world. I am a big girl you know I can handle your bluntness, for some reason it just got to me last night, no big deal."

"I didn't like seeing you cry, and I don't like the fact that I caused it. I came to apologize and tell you that it won't happen again."

"Apology accepted" Tempe started to stand but again was stopped by Booth's hand.

"Listen, whatever it was, or whoever it was that did this to you, it's over. It's done. You have to go on with your life. I learned a long time ago that the people that we assume with never hurt us inevitably will, and those that we assume will hurt us don't simply because we don't care enough about them to give a crap about what they say or what they do."

"Nobody did anything; I don't know what you are talking about." Tempe's chest was starting to rise and fall in an abnormal fashion, heavier than normal. Booth knew that he struck a nerve.

"Why do you do that? Why don't you talk to me? Why is it so important for you to cut yourself off, make jokes, change the subject. What do I have to do, or say for you to open up to me?" Booth took the tip of his index finger and tilted the tip of her chin upwards towards his face. He wanted her to know that she could trust him. He wanted her to look in his eyes and understand that he wasn't going to hurt her, that he was there for her.

She sighed, and after an agonizingly long pause spoke.

"It's easier for me. Digging into my work takes my mind away from the reality of my life. So I change the subject when someone gets personal."

"Hum.." Booth just sat there with a heartbreaking look on his face.

"What do you want to know Booth?"

"Why do you run from me? What is it about me that has you jetting in the opposite direction?"

"You scare me, make me doubt myself." Booth was hurt by these words she could see it from the expression on his face.

"I don't understand, what have I done to you that makes you think that way? Have I said something? Done something? Help me out here Tempe."

"It's not you, it's me. I haven't felt about anyone the way I feel when I'm around you. You make me want to be a better person, to live life. You make me want to feel." Bones looked back down at her hands.

"What's wrong with feeling Temperance?"

"Nothing in general, but there is a problem with having feelings for you."

"And what is that?"

"We are partners Booth, I can't get involved with you, what would happen to our professional lives if our personal lives got messy?"

"We would deal with it, that's what!… people do this everyday Tempe, they find someone they like, someone that they connect to and they make that leap; regardless of their jobs."

"I'm not good with relationships Booth, you know that. What if we get involved and you decide you don't like me? That everything you thought you felt was just the rush of the chase?"

"Thrill of the chase, and you will just have to trust me."

"I don't know if I can do that."

Booth knew there was no point in pressing the topic, she would take that step when it was her time, all he could do now was hold her, and show her that he was sticking around. He was afraid that if he said anything else the words would come out wrong and he couldn't take the chance of ruining the moment. He reached around her pulling her into the comfort of his chest. She cried, but this time he knew if was for a different reason, this time it was because her fortress had been broken. Moments later she had successfully cried herself to sleep.

He couldn't leave her, not now; it was too hard so he leaned back into the couch adjusting for her comfort, gently kissed the top of her head and leaned back to rest himself.

Seconds later he lifted his head back up off the rear of the couch, becoming engulfed in the smell of her hair. He did have something to say.

"I love you." he said in a hushed tone knowing that she was fully asleep and wouldn't hear it.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys, sorry this is so short, and that it has taken me a while to post. It is end of month at my job and things get hectic… don't really have time for anything else. Besides after spending all day crunching numbers it's hard to be motivated to do anything by the time I get home. This is just a filler chapter.. longer chapter later, I promise. Also, thanks for the reviews. Y'all humble me by telling me that I write well. Love y'all! -Misty**

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The moon was still out when Temperance arose from a much needed slumber. Her house was dark and still, peacefulness surrounded her and she loved the feeling. Calmness that she so seldom lets herself experience overcame her as she started to shift and then she heard it. Breathing from the man that lay wrapped around her. She could feel the warmth from his arms that now cradled her like a small child, and as her eyes finally came into focus from the lack of light she could see the faintest of smiles that graced his handsome face.

"Oh my god, what have I done?" She thought to herself. "I can't do this."

She quickly shuffled to her feet in an exuberated state of panic. "Oh, my god, oh my god…"

The sound of her bare feet on the hardwood floor woke Booth, but the look on her face kept him from saying anything, he lay in silence watching as she scrambled to leave; Scrambled to get away from everything she had done and said the evening before; scrambling to get away from him. As his eyes began to water he closed them, rolled over and pretended to be asleep, more for the sake of Tempe not seeing him cry verses the impending drama of Temperance gone crazy.

Thirty minutes later she was gone. Out the door with not so much as a look back in Booth's general direction.

Booth sighed heavily as he rose from the couch and walked directly to the kitchen to retrieve the note that Bone's had left for him.

_Booth,_

_At work, see you later._

_Temperance_

_P.S. Please lock the door._

"Well, if that doesn't just scream emotional attachment, I don't know what does." Booth said aloud in a mocking tone. He had a sneaking suspicion that Bones would do this, she always did. Give a little, tuck and run. That was in her nature, but he was damn determined that he was going to break that cycle.

"You want to play hard ball Tempe…. Bring it on."


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